Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Two Brothers
by RaphaelRoxas
Summary: Back at 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes is hit with another case. An eccentric billionaire is killed in a fire, and it's up to Holmes and his faithful companion John Watson to solve the mystery.


(All characters belong to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This is my first attempt at a fanfic and at that a mystery as well. When I watched Sherlock BBC, I immediately fell in love with it and I felt the need to write a story of my own. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

_I dedicate this story to my friend Kristian Mosquito. Thank you very much for your help with your brilliant ideas._

* * *

I, Dr. John Watson, had woken up quite earlier than I usually do and was quite surprised to see that my companion, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, was not in his bed. I decided to search a bit more, but found my efforts fruitless and went back to sleep. When I had woken up much later, Holmes had still not arrived. I simply did not care much at the time. He often left quite early for cases. Instead, I decided to make some breakfast. When I had finished I heard someone going up the stairs. My companion had arrived at last.

"Another case I presume?" said I."A simple false alarm." said Holmes.

"Yes, just a simple murder is all. The facts were almost too obvious. The guy disliked the victim very much. He tried lying to the police that the victim had committed suicide with his gun. But there was no gun to be found and the police had not touched anything. Yes, simply the witness was actually the murderer."

"A bit bored then?"

"Yes, I am."

"Hungry?"

"Famished."

After my friend had finished his meal, he grabbed his violin and began playing some notes. Just then I realized I forgot to get the paper. I saw the headline: Fire Breaks Out at Gower St,. Eccentric billionaire is Killed in Deadly Flames.

"Look at this Holmes." I said

My friend scanned the paper."A fire? Oh how dull." he said.

He then screeched another note upon his violin.

"Let me read it to you.": At around 3 AM this morning, a deadly fire had broken out at Gower St. the home of the Eccentric billionaire Jonathan Lauren. Mr. Lauren was a miner in America in the extinct volcano Ultino. His source of money is unknown though it is rumored that he inherited it from his parents. He worked as the CEO of World Bank, one of the largest banks in England. The source of the fire is unknown at this point. The police believe it to be a simple gas leak that caused the fire.

"Doesn't sound much like a case now does it?" said I.

Holmes simply was ignoring me and instead was texting on his phone.

"Much more complex then you think, Lestrade has just texted me the details. Come on Watson, we are going to Gower Street." he said.

We hopped into a taxi and headed off. I was very curious where we were going. We soon arrived at the house. The house smelled of burnt wood and fur. The fire was out, but it was still a sight to see. It was as if the whole house went down in the raging fire. My companion began then searching around. Lestrade then came out of the rubble to greet us.

"Well, Holmes. It looks like it really was a gas leak. Another false alarm." said Lestrade.

"Not so fast, Lestrade." responded Holmes.

" Let me see the body.""Won't do any good. Almost of all it is burnt."

"Let me see it."Lestrade then brought the body to him. He looked quite carefully at it and took out his magnifying glass.

"Watson, you're a doctor. Why don't you analyze it?" said Holmes

"Well, by comparison his hands are severely burned. His legs were quite frizzled up by the flames. His chest is covered in soot."

"Yes, yes. Go on." said Holmes.

"His hair is a tangled mess and his neck like his hands, are severely burned to a crisp.

"Yes, yes good Watson. But you only payed attention to what is obvious. You must look into things more. For example, you said his neck was burned to a crisp. Well if you look on his neck there are scratches and signs of choking. But, I may have not seen the scratches without you mentioning his neck."

"So that means?" said Lestrade

"Yes, this man was murdered. Going on the other details of Watson. The man walked with a limp probably from a rock crushing it. His right hand is bigger than his other, so he must have been right handed as he used it more often. I can only guess, that the murderer had choked him to death, and in order to get rid of the body he burned it."

"Well, any clues though to find out who it is?"

"Give me a second to inspect the room"

My friend's eyes wandered amongst the torn papers on the burned floor.

"I got it!" said Holmes. "Look at this paper."

"What about it? I don't see anything special about it. It looks like a grocery list." responded Lestrade.

"That's where you're wrong. Come Watson, I will solve this case most likely by the end of the day. Lestrade if you would like to help, I will text you the details later. Good bye!"

After we had gotten into another taxi I asked Holmes where we were going.

"We're going to solve this case. Look at the note." said Holmes.

"I still say it looks a lot like a grocery list."

"Yes, but look what happens when you use a pencil and write over it."

"It's an address!"

"And that is where we are going.""But how did you figure that out before you drew on it with pencil."

"Well, that was a mere observation. Why would a grocery list be inside a book? It was simply the victim's last effort to try and help the police find out who murdered him. He most likely wrote the address, but his murderer saw it, ripped it out, and the address imprinted on the pad the victim was writing on."

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I believe we're here. Did you bring your gun? It could be dangerous."

"Of course."

We peered into the house. No one was inside. Holmes then easily picked the lock and we went inside. The house was a mess. Clothes on the floor and books and papers scattered everywhere. I then saw a picture of someone that looked like Mr. Lauren.

"Holmes, you might want to look at this." I said. My friend examined it. He then turned it over and saw a message:_To my friend and brother, James Lauren. Signed, John Lauren_.

"Would you look at that?" I responded.

"Yes, I believe James should be arriving now." said Holmes.

The door slowly opened. I took out my gun pointing toward the door. Holmes on the other hand, was relaxing on a recliner very calm in such a dire situation. A man then began walking toward us. He had a mustache and was wearing a suit and top hat. He was a bit taller than Holmes, and he walked with a walking stick with a diamond on top. As soon as he saw me, he took out his gun. It pointed toward me, until Holmes spoke:

"Put away your gun. James, the jig is up. You are under arrest for the murder of your brother Jonathan Lauren." Outside I heard police cars and Lestrade on a megaphone. Slowly, James walked out and was easily handcuffed. My friend walked over to him:

"Now, tell me. You and your brother were miners in America. You discovered a huge treasure, and you told your brother about it. Your brother was jealous and so he stole the treasure from you which could explain why he was rich. He then fled the country without you knowing. You could not afford to follow him, so you were forced to stay in America. But eventually you rediscovered your brother's name in the papers as a rich billionaire and went to England by spending all the money you had. When you arrived, you couldn't kill your brother right away. You instead decided to taunt him with clues about who you are. You sent him a package with a book on volcanoes. On his doorstep you left him a jar of silica dust. Finally, you went over to his house knowing that he was scared out of his mind and went up to him in disguise. You then proceeded to choke him, but you still wanted to let him know who you are, so you decided to burn his body as if the fire was lava. But when you left to go find matches, your brother took out a note pad to write a message of your address since it was on the bag you brought. But you caught him and tore out the paper, but it still left an imprint of the address. As for the rest, you burned his body slowly by slowly and then before you went to his neck and chest you took off your disguise and killed him. You took his money and then burned the rest of the house down. Am I right on all accounts?"

"Yes, I don't know how, but yes, you are." said James. The police then drove him away.

"Well Watson, I believe this case is done." said Holmes." I say we go to that art museum that opened up recently. Perhaps we'll then go home. I'm sure Mrs. Hudson might have something for us to eat."


End file.
